- GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
- GOES-R is the first of four new advanced weather satellites of the GOES-R program managed by US’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- It will provide images of Earth’s weather, oceans and environment with 16 different spectral bands.
- GOES-R is also first satellite to carry a lightning mapper instrument to geostationary orbit. It will photograph lightning activity throughout Western Hemisphere about 200 times every second.
- It will monitor the sun and relay crucial information to forecasters so they can issue space weather alerts and warnings